WDW or Disneyland in 2020?

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Topic: WDW or Disneyland in 2020? (Read 1577 times)

Hi all,I'll be turning 30 next summer (2020) and as I have lots of friends living all over the USA I want to plan a trip to see them, and finally visit either Disneyland in CA, or WDW. I feel like the pros/cons lists I'm going to make would be ridiculous, so was wondering if anyone on here could help me?Things to note: I'm a school teacher, so would be constrained to normal school holidaysGalaxy's Edge openings at both-would a Halloween or Dec/Christmas trip be better or just as busy?WDW has just released the free dining offer- does Disneyland offer similar packages?Are they similarly priced? (staying on-property)

Any tips or help gratefully received-I'm a seasoned pro at DLP but WAY out of my depth here!

Hi I have been going to Disneyland California every year since 2010 and Im off again in June 2019. This is my 2015 trip report, which will help you. however, as it was 2015, some of the information is out of date. If you are interested I can give you a link to another website where I have my 2018 trip report https://www.magicforum.eu/index.php?topic=19297.0

Disneyland1. Mainly locals park2. Average park days 4 3. Located in Anaheim, about an hours drive south from LAX airport4. Located about 90 minutes drive from Hollywood5. Located about 90 minutes drive from Universal Studios Hollywood. 6. Usually combined with 4 or 5 days in LA / Hollywood. People stay in Anaheim to go to Disneyland, then change locations and drive to Hollywood / LA to do all the LA things like Hollywood Boulevard, Universal Studios, Santa Monica and Venice Beaches, etc etc7. 2 Parks, similar to Disneyland Paris, parks are located opposite ends of an Esplanade and share security / bag check, so once inside the security check you can park hop multiple times in a day without any further security8. 3 onsite hotels, very expensive , 2 are outside the general public security bag check area9. Majority of visitors stay offsite, Harbour Boulevard has multiple hotels and motels with less than 10 minute walk to security / bag check,10.No Dining Plan11. Tickets are bought either direct through Disney or from authorised 3rd party discount sellers Undercover Tourist or Last Minute Travel Club12. 3 day or longer tickets give access to 1 early opening at Disneyland Main Park13. Onsite hotel guests get early access to both Disneyland Main Park and California Adventures Park. The early access days rotate between the parks. One Day Disneyland Main Park, the next day California Adventures Park14. Fast Pass has 2 systems. The free paper kiosks at the rides, the same as Disneyland Paris. Maxpass - a digital paid for version on the Disneyland App. Currently Maxpass costs $15 per person per day. It can only be bought once you are in the parks. Maxpass requires data on a phone, as the park free Wifi is very limited15. Advance Dining Reservations open 60 days in advance. Restaurant reservations require a credit card and need to be cancelled 24 hours in advance to avoid a no show fee16. 2 main night time water shows - Fantasmic in Disneyland Main Park, World of Color in California Adventures. Both have dining packages with reserved viewing sections and both also have Fastpass reserved viewing sections. Depending on the time of the year, the shows may only be at the weekends.17. Fireworks and animation show projected onto The Castle, depending on time of year may only be at weekends. Fireworks may be cancelled at short notice due to weather issues18 Daily parade in Disneyland Main Park19. Star Wars Galaxys Edge opens on May 31 2019. Until it opens, I cant advise on rides, crowd levels, etc. 20. International airport is LAX, travel time is approx 1 hour depending on traffic to Anaheim / Disneyland21. Smaller airport John Wane Orange County is neared to Anaheim / Disneyland22. 3 options for getting to Disneyland from the airport, rent a car, shared shuttle van / bus / private car service23. I usually use www.supershuttle.com for transport between the airport and Disneyland, if you require info on other options, let me know24 At Halloween time Haunted Mansion gets a redo into Nightmare Before Christmas and there is an upcharge party called Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party25. At Christmas time, its very much like at Disneyland Paris, with Christmas events and Christmas themed shows26. Halloween time (school holidays) Christmas time or summer time, all are usually crowded. I go at the end of June every year Over the last number of years crowds have been increasing all year round. Realistically only end of January beginning of February, during term time is the only down time. Therefore, I would say pick the time of year that suits you best and just expect crowds

1. Mainly a tourists park2. Average park days 7 to 10 days3. Located in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, about 30 minutes drive from Orlando airport4. Located about 20 minutes drive from Universal Studios Orlando5. Walt Disney World and Universal Studios are usually combined during 14 day visit6. Most people just visit the theme-parks and dont really do sightseeing / visit other places7. Walt Disney World has 4 parks and 2 water parks8. You need to take Disney transportation either bus, mono rail or ferry between the parks. You need to go through security / bag check each time you enter a park. The majority of people dont park hop, or if they do, they go to one park in the morning and a different park in the evening.9. There are 17 onsite resorts, divided into Deluxe, Moderate and Value. There are also 47 offsite Good Neighbour Hotels, some of which have some of the Disney perks , such as access to Early Opening10. Universal Studios has 6 onsite resorts, divided into Premier, Preferred and Prime Value11. The main offsite hotels are located on International Drive12. If you stay at one of Disneys onsite resorts, you can get the Dining Plan13. Most European visitors to Walt Disney World book a 14 day package through a travel agent14. If you stay at an onsite Walt Disney World Resort or at certain Good Neighbour hotels, you can have access to early opening or after hours15. Each of the parks has its own night time show, so you will have to research whats on and where16. Star Wars Galaxys Edge is due to open in Walt Disney 29 August 201917. Magical Express is a free airport shuttle bus service for onsite guests at Walt Disney World18. Minnie Vans available through Lyft are a private car service for onsite guests at Walt Disney World19. Other transport options are Supershuttle, car rental or Uber / Lyft or Taxi to offsite hotels

Fastpass At Walt Disney World1. Are booked in advance online through My Disney Experience App2. You can also get electronic Fastpasses at kiosks in the park3. You can change or modify Fastpasses through the App online, on your phone or at the Fatspass kiosks in the park4. If you stay at a Disney Resort you can book Fastpasses 60 days out from the first night of your stay5. If you stay at a non Disney Resort you can book Fastpasses 30 days out from the first night of your stay6. It is advisable to know when either your 60 day or 30 day time is. There is a huge demand for Fastpasses and many people will be online at the exact time their 60 or 30 day window starts, even if it is the middle of the night in their timezone.7. The My Disney Experience App is set for the Orlando timezone.The Fastpass booking becomes available at 7am Orlando time. 8. When you do the 60 / 30 day advance Fastpass booking you can only book 3 Fastpasses per person per dayThe 3 Fastpasses must be at a single park9. Rides are tiered for Fastpasses, Tier 1, the most popular rides and Tier 2 everything else. 10. You can only have 1 Tier 1 Fastpass when you do the advance booking11. Once you have used all your prebooked Fastpasses, you can then obtain another Fastpass through the App or at the kiosks. Once you use the 4th Fastpass you can obtain another one and so on. However all this depends on the availability of Fastpasses.

Advance Restaurant Reservations At Walt Disney World1. Table Service Restaurants and Dinner / shows in Walt Disney World are very popular and many are themed. 2. Dining Plans are also very popular and as a result it is really advisable to make restaurant reservations in advance. 3. Many restaurants will not have walk up on the day availability. 4. All Disney guests can make Advance Dining Reservations from 180 days in advance. 5. Dining reservations can be made online through My Disney Experience 6. Make sure to know when your 180 day window starts7. Restaurant Reservations are available from 6am Orlando time8. Many people are online at 6am Orlando time even if it is the middle of the night in their time zone.9. Many restaurants will book out fast and you may find no reservations available for your stay if you leave it too near your arrival date

Transatlantic Flights1. I usually book my flights direct with the airlines. This is a great fight comparison website www.skyscanner.com2. In general direct flights are more expensive. Flights with 1 or 2 stops are cheaper. 3. Check out the airlines before you book a flight. Like with our European airlines, there are both budget and national airlines. 4. In general the national airlines will have in flight food, in flight entertainment, checked bags etc included in the price. Some transatlantic budget airlines do not5. In general checked luggage weight is 20kg or 23 kg and 1 checked bag is included in the price6. It is recommended that you arrive at the airport 3 hours in advance7. There can be up to 300 people on the transatlantic flights and boarding usually starts about 1 hour before departure8. It might be a good idea to bring sleep mask, earplugs and travel pillow for the flight

Tourist Visa For America1. The tourist Visa for America is called Electronic System for Travel Authorisation2. This is for people whose country is part of the Visa Waiver Scheme. To make sure you are eligible for ESTA check here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Waiver_Program#Eligible_countries3. You get your ESTA online here https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/4. It costs $14, if you are quoted more than that, you are not on the official website / being overcharged ESTA is valid for 2 years5. With ESTA you can stay a maximum of 90 consecutive days in America6. Make sure to print out and keep a record of your ESTA application number7. You need to apply for ESTA no later than 72 hours before departure

Getting Your Passport Stamped When You Land in AmericaOnce your flight lands and you leave the plane, you will go through security checks BEFORE retrieving your checked luggage.You hand your passport to the security officer and you will be asked questions about your visit, the purpose of your visit, your travel companions etc etc. You will get an eye scan and a fingerprint scan. Once the security officer is happy with your answers, they stamp your passport and you go to baggage reclaim. American airport security take their job seriously and can be intimidating. This is not the time to joke or be funny

I've been to both WDW and DL, and I must admit that I prefer WDW. One reason is that there is a lot to do there.But we are not persons that really need to do everething either, and we don't stress about reserving fastpass etc.

One advice I would like to give, don't stress around the parks. Take your time to take in the surroundings.Make sure you also have the time to relax, not running from attraction to attraction. We also use a day or two to visit all the different Disney Resort, using the Disney buses, boats and monorail.

There is also a website called wdwinfo.com that has a lot of info about both WDW and DL.

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